Browse Data and Analysis

Over the past two decades, India’s political landscape continues to hinder the developments in agriculture biotechnology. Bt cotton (Bacillus thuringiensis) approved in 2002 remains the sole biotech-derived crop approved for commercial cultivation.

Kazakh farmers are finishing harvest, having dealt with rains in early September and cold night temperatures in October that reduced overall quality but only marginally affected quantity.

FAS New Delhi forecasts India’s total milk production in 2025 to rise to 216.5 MMT, attributable to the growing herd size of animals in milk, increased government support for the dairy sector, the expected continuation of good weather, high milk prices, and an absence of a major disease outbreak.

FAS Mumbai forecasts marketing year (MY) 2024/25 coffee production (Oct/Sep) at 6.2 million 60-kilogram bags, four percent higher than the previous forecast due to plentiful southwest monsoon rains that will improve Robusta crop yields.

A heavy 2024 southwest monsoon season has caused flooding and water logging in several central India states, leading to crop damage and expected lower agricultural production. India’s Meteorological Department (IMD) indicated that monsoon withdrawal was delayed by a week to September 23 and is likely to further exacerbate crop damage during harvest.

India's retail food sector is experiencing significant growth, driven by increased household purchasing power, rising awareness of gourmet products, and a growing economy.

On May 24, 2022, India’s Ministry of Commerce and Industry/Directorate General of Foreign Trade issued notification No. 10/2015-20, amending its sugar export policy. The notification specifies that exports of raw, refined, and white sugar fall under the “restricted” category.

On May 24, 2022, India’s Ministry of Commerce and Industry/Directorate General of Foreign Trade issued Public Notice No. 10/2015-20 (May 24, 2022) (see, Appendix I). The public notice specifies that India is allocating a tariff-rate quota (TRQ) of 2 million metric tons (MMT) for crude soybean oil and a similar TRQ of 2 MMT for crude sunflower oil in India fiscal year (IFY) 2022/23 and in IFY 2023/24. The Indian government’s measure is meant to address the high domestic prices of edible oils, and to check rising food inflation.

Heat stress resulting from an unprecedented spike in temperatures beginning in the mid-March 2022 has had a marked impact India’s wheat crop. Yields are 10-15 percent down, driving India’s forecasted market year (MY) 2022/23 (April-March) wheat production down from 110 million metric tons (MMT) to 99 MMT.

To stem the burgeoning current account deficit and declining foreign exchange reserves, on May 19, 2022, Pakistan banned imports of many categories of agricultural products.

On May 2, 2022, the Ministry of Consumer, Food and Public Distribution, through the Directorate General of Foreign Trade announced approval for the importation of an additional 550,000 metric tons (MT) of soybean meal (including GE derived).

Bangladesh consumes approximately 6 million metric tons of chemical fertilizers annually, of which about 80 percent are imported. The four major imported chemical fertilizers in Bangladesh are urea, triple super phosphate, diammonium phosphate, and muriate of potash (MOP). Russia and Belarus were the dominant suppliers of MOP in Bangladesh.